


Waiting at the Lantern Waste

by Onceuponadisneypotter



Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: The Pevensie siblings dissapear, but Philip is a loyal horse, i have emotions, so he waits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 17:23:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20012026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onceuponadisneypotter/pseuds/Onceuponadisneypotter
Summary: Philip was a loyal horse, and King Edmund had told him to wait. So, when the four royal siblings disappeared in the woods behind the strange tree that lit the forest around him, that was exactly what he did.





	Waiting at the Lantern Waste

He was waiting. He was old, and his legs hurt, and it was getting dark, but he kept waiting. And waiting. And waiting. For he knew for sure, _for sure,_ that his King would return.

They had gone out for a hunt, to find the White Stag, the one rumoured to grant wishes when one caught it. Edmund had cancelled his meetings, he had told him, to ride out with his siblings. And, as ever, he had chosen _him,_ chosen Philip to carry him into the unknown. It was an honour he thanked Aslan for every day of his life, to serve one of the True Kings of Narnia, and to call him his friend. So, Philip waited. And waited. And waited.

They had gone into the forest none of them knew. Not that they worried, for the nymphs in the trees would be able to lead their way back if they ever got lost. They feared no danger, all threats were eliminated from the great kingdom a long time ago, when his Kings and Queens were still young, when he was much more agile. And indeed, they had gotten lost, the White Stag had disappeared somewhere between the green, lush trees. That is when his fellow riders had spotted the weird tree, the one on fire. The one illuminating the now rapidly approaching dark, dark night whilst Philip waited. His Kings and Queens had looked in awe at the wonder of nature, the strange, overgrown thing the youngest Queen, after some consideration, had quietly called a ‘lamp post’. Edmund had told him to rest, _promised_ that he would return. So Philip waited. And waited. And waited. Darkness came and went, but his King had not returned.

He had found a small stream of water he and his fellow horses – Non-speaking ones, but all good steeds – could drink from. He had used it to clean his hooves from the mud, to cool his ankles after the warm summer night. They had found some leaves to eat, some grass to graze, some sweet berries they carefully picked from the thorny bush with their lips. It was truly a delicious treat, but he had not enjoyed it as much as the others, carefree and without worries. He wondered where King Edmund had gone, why he hadn’t returned, where the other King and Queens went. If they were in danger. He shook his head, banishing that thought from his head. There was no danger in Narnia anymore. The witch had been defeated, the giants were on the other side of Narnia, and the peace treaty between them and the Calormen had been upheld so far. There was no danger in Narnia, and his Kings and Queens would return. Darkness came and went, and Philip still waited.

He could not sleep that night, and instead watched the stars. The little twinkles of light that usually seemed so bright when they were camping in the woods now only looked like faded dots compared to the light coming from the strange tree. That, combined with the bright full moon had almost made it seem like it was day rather than night. If he looked very carefully he could find the constellations that had always pointed Edmund’s way during their adventures, made sure they could always find their way back to the warm stables in Cair Paravel. The sunrise that morning coloured the entire forest in a soft golden hue, a gorgeous sight promising a deliciously warm day. The bright light slowly rose, marking the passing of time, but King Edmund, or any of his siblings, did not return that day. Darkness came and went, and Philip still waited.

That morning a robin landed on the lamp post, slightly out of breath. ‘Good morning, Robert.’ Philip greeted. ‘Good morning!’ the creature, who lived in the stables’ rafters, replied. ‘I have been looking all over for you. Where are our Kings and Queens? The dwarves are getting quite upset that their meeting with King Peter keeps being delayed, and I fear the fauns were very disappointed that Queen Lucy did not show up for their play. The children worked so hard on it!’ Philip sighed and told the red-breasted bird an abbreviated version of his travels so far. Everything had gone great from the beginning. Queen Susan had heard that the White Stag was spotted, and once she had told her siblings they had wasted no time riding out in search of the mythical creature. It had been a long time since they had gone on an adventure, just the four of them, and they had laughed and reminisced and told stories of the trouble they had gotten into during trips one or more of the others had not been on. They had followed the rumours to the Lantern Wastes, and there… Oh, there it had all gone wrong. Philip had gotten tired and fallen behind, Queen Lucy had found the strange tree and then all four of them had gone through the pinewood and were yet to return. ‘So the Kings and Queens have been gone for four days now?’ the bird asked, astonished. Philip simply nodded. ‘I will go get help,’ Robert replied. ‘Wait here.’ So Philip waited. Darkness came and went, and still no crown to be seen.

He startled awake by the rough voice of a fox, demanding answers to his questions. Once he had opened his eyes he saw that there was not only a fox, but also a stag – not a White one – a couple of rabbits, some squirrels and even two centaurs had gathered around him and the three other horses. He must have been well and truly tired to sleep through all that. ‘Shut it, Rupert,’ one of the centaurs chastised the energetic brown creature that had so rudely awoken Philip. ‘We are all concerned about the whereabouts of our royalty, no need to be rude about it.’ The fox calmed down, and after some further reprimanding and organising the entire crew of creatures was silent long enough to hear Philip’s story again. It had been five days now, and although the siblings had often gone out on unannounced adventures it was never that they disappeared for this long without notice. And especially not on foot and without any supplies, for those still weighed heavily on the four horses’ shoulders. Before long, however, the two centaurs helped him remove the heavy saddle and the gathered creatures had spread out through the forest, running, jumping, flying, crawling over trees to find their lost Royal family. And so, Philip found himself alone again. But this time he could not wait, not anymore. With careful steps, he walked towards the trees he had seen his King disappear in and wrestled himself through the needles.

He had not walked very far, although he had been struggling through the thick trees and long branches for a long time, when he came upon a clearing. A flash of light shone into his eyes, and when he tried to step forward he felt something under his hoof. A sword. Not just any sword, but Rhindon, the sword of High King Peter himself. Philip felt his heart skip a beat, for he knew the King would never leave this treasure behind. ‘He is not here.’ A soft voice spoke, startling the old horse. He looked up, right into the eyes of a Lion. Not _a_ lion, but _The_ Lion. ‘Aslan-’ he whispered, and, slowly, he kneeled on the grass before the King of Beasts. The Lion smiled and shook his head. ‘There is no need for that, Philip.’ ‘You – You remember me?’ Philip had once met Him, once fought beside Him when the nasty witch still ruled the land-that-wasn’t-hers. ‘I know all the creatures in Narnia,’ replied the Lion, ‘and I know that you have been very loyal indeed.’ ‘Do you know where King Edmund is? And High King Peter, and the Queens Susan and Lucy?’ As he looked around he saw the shields, the bow and arrow, the dagger and the cordial the Royal Siblings always carried with them. ‘Do not be alarmed, you are looking for your Kings and Queens, who ruled Narnia. But they are not here. Go tell the other creatures of Narnia that My Children have returned to their own world. They are needed there.’ ‘Their – their own world?’ Philip repeated. ‘The world I have called them from when Narnia needed them. But now that the witch has been defeated and order restored their own world needs them again. Do not worry, one day, when Narnia needs them again, they will return to Cair Paravel.’ Before the horse could say another word, the Big Lion was gone and Philip was alone. Well and truly alone.

The trip back to the castle was a silent and sober one. The empty saddle on his back felt heavier than it had when it still carried a rider, and where the way there had been filled with laughter and chatter Philip spent the road back quietly crying. He was not the only one mourning, as the news of the disappearance of the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve spread. Corin, the rash boxing prince of Archenland and a close friend of those that were once seated on the now-empty thrones in Paravel took over as King, advised by Mr Tumnus, Mr and Mrs Beaver and all the other creatures that had helped the previous royals rule Narnia. But Philip was not there to see it. Once the new King was crowned he had left the peninsula and travelled westward towards the Lantern Waste to rest and wait. Wait for King Edmund to return, just like he promised.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked reading this! I tried to parallel the days that Philip is waiting with the days from Genesis 1 in which the world is made. So the first day he describes the light, the second day water and plants, third day the sun and stars etc. Also, Aslan's speech is inspired by Mark 16:6-7


End file.
